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U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR

Kim Is Medalist At 2012 U.S. Women’s Amateur
August 6, 2012
By Rhonda Glenn, USGA

Ariya Jutanugarn finished tied for third in stroke-play qualifying after firing a 5-under 139. (Steven Gibbons/USGA)

Cleveland – Hyo-Joo Kim, 17, of Korea, claimed medalist honors at the 2012 U.S. Women’s Amateur with an 8-under-par score of 68-68–136 at the 6,512-yard, par-72 course at The Country Club.

Lydia Ko, 15, of New Zealand, the No.1-ranked amateur in the world, finished one stroke back at 7-under-par 137. Ariya Jutanugarn, 16, of Thailand, the long-hitting 2011 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion, and Alison Lee, 17, of Valencia, Calif., qualified at 5-under-par 139.

The 2012 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship consists of 36 holes of stroke play followed by six rounds of match play, with the championship scheduled to conclude with a 36-hole final on Sunday at 8:30 a.m.

The U.S. Women’s Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Following stroke play, the field was cut to the low 64 scorers. The cut came at 5-over-par 149, with 15 players competing for the last 14 match-play berths.

Kim teed off on the second nine and birdied five of the first seven holes to turn in 31 strokes. She was 1-over-par on holes No. 1 through No. 9.

I really played well on my first nine, but for the other nine I had a couple of mistakes, Kim said through an interpreter. I made the five birdies because I saw where I should aim it and it was exactly right. My irons were close to the hole.

Ko struggled with her putter. She hit every green in regulation figures but had 36 putts, seven more than on Monday, when she fired a women’s course-record round of 66.

If I’d putted as well as yesterday, I would have been seven or eight strokes better, said Ko, the low amateur at last month’s Women’s Open. She narrowly missed tying for medalist honors when her 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th slid over the left edge of the hole.

I’m not a bad putter, but now and then it happens, Ko said.

Jutanugarn birdied the first three holes but a wayward tee shot on the sixth resulted in a double bogey.

I’m playing so good today and I’m hitting my drives so good, then, ugh, I hit it left on six. Lost ball, Jutanugarn said. She salvaged the round with birdies at the seventh and eighth, and collected two more against a single bogey coming in.

Ko and Jutanugarn are both seasoned competitors and eager for match-play rounds to begin.

Last year I was medalist and lost in the second round, so hopefully I’ll go a lot further, Ko said. I came into this championship and knew I had a chance to win, and many other people do as well.

Jutanugarn captured her first national match-play championship when she won the U.S. Girls’ Junior last year. Before, when I played match play, I wasn’t sure, she said. When I won last year, I found it is so fun to play.

On her run to medalist honors, Kim virtually mastered the second nine. She was eight-under par on the second nine with eight birdies for 36 holes. She is even par on the first nine. My approach shots are not as good, Kim said through an interpreter.

Kim is vying in only her second match-play competition and the first nine is a challenge. The fifth through seventh holes have baffled the field. Kim has so far made only three bogeys, but two of them came in that stretch of holes. Ko is 1-under-par for the same three holes.

Lee, who was runner-up in the 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior in June, had five birdies against four bogeys on Tuesday. She combined a 71 with her opening round of 68 to finish at five under par.

Latanna Stone, of Valrico, Fla., at 10 the youngest qualifier in U.S. Women’s Amateur history, added a 78 to her opening 82 and missed the cut for match play by 11 strokes. Stone, however, was unfazed.

It was fun, she said after her round. I was a little bit nervous but it’s been a very, very good learning experience for me. I have a lot to do.

Other notable players to miss the cut include 2012 Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup Team member and Ladies British Open Amateur Championship winner Stephanie Meadow and 2012 USA Curtis Cup Team member Erica Popson, as well as Sally Watson, who represented GB&I at the 2008 and 2010 Matches.

Results

Cleveland – Results from Tuesday’s second round of stroke play at the 2012 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, being conducted at the 6,512-yard, par-72 course at The Country Club (* = involved in a 15-for-14 playoff):